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Graves County, Kentucky
Graves County is a county in Kentucky. The population of the county is 37,121. Major roads Purchase Parkway US Route 45 US Route 45 Bypass Kentucky Route 58 Kentucky Route 80 Kentucky Route 83 Kentucky Route 94 Kentucky Route 97 Kentucky Route 121 Kentucky Route 129 Kentucky Route 131 Kentucky Route 301 Kentucky Route 303 Kentucky Route 339 Kentucky Route 440 Geography Adjacent counties Calloway County (east) McCracken County (north) Marshall County (northeast) Carlisle County (northwest) Weakley County, Tennessee (south) Henry County, Tennessee (southeast) Hickman County (west) Demographics As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the racial composition of the county is: 87.30% White (32,406) 5.91% Hispanic or Latino (2,193) 4.79% Black or African American (1,778) 2.00% Other (744) 15.9% (5,902) of Graves County residents live below the poverty line. Theft rate statistics Graves County has average rates of Pokemon theft and murder. The county reported 11 Pokemon thefts in 2018, and averages 0.91 murders a year. Pokemon Communities Cities Mayfield - 10,024 Water Valley - 279 Wingo - 632 CDPs Fancy Farm - 458 Farmington - 245 Hickory - 185 (ACS) Lowes - 98 Pryorsburg - 311 Sedalia - 295 Symsonia - 615 Unincorporated communities Bell City Boaz Boydsville (partly in Weakley County, Tennessee) Clear Springs Cuba Dogwood Dublin Dukedom (partly in Weakley County, Tennessee) Feliciana Folsomdale Golo Kaler Kansas Lynnville Melber (partly in McCracken County) Pottsville Viola West Viola Westplains Wheel Climate Fun facts * During the post-Reconstruction period, racial violence by whites against blacks continued in Graves County; they exercised terrorism to re-establish and maintain white supremacy. Whites lynched 6 African Americans here after 1877; most were killed around the turn of the 20th century. Four were killed during one week in 1896 in Mayfield, the county seat. Three were killed on December 23 in the so-called Mayfield Race War. Whites had heard rumors that blacks were arming elsewhere in the county in retaliation for the lynching of Jim Stone earlier that week. The whites recruited reinforcements from Fulton County and, overly tense, killed Will Suett, a young black man, as he was getting off a train to visit his family for the holidays. Two other black men were fatally shot soon after. Acknowledging that Suett's death was unprovoked, white residents took up a collection for his widowed mother. * Graves is a dry county, however, Mayfield is wet. * Graves County made national news in September 2011 for jailing several Amish men who refused to use orange safety triangles on their buggies for religious reasons. The Old Order Swartzentruber Amish used reflective tape instead. They said it was against their religion to use "loud colors" (as they characterized the orange triangles). They did not succeed in their appeal of their 2008 convictions. Menno Zook, Danny Byler, Mose Yoder, Levi Hostetler, David Zook, and Eli Zook refused to pay the small fines imposed with their convictions. All served sentences ranging from three to ten days. Jail officials accommodated them by not forcing them to wear the typical orange county jail uniforms; they allowed the Amish to wear dark gray uniforms. * Tobacco was important to the local economy. Graves County developed the dark-fired and dark-air-cured leaf tobacco used in smokeless tobacco farming. In the early 20th century, Graves was one of the counties involved in the Black Patch Tobacco Wars, as white farmers organized in the western region to resist monopoly pricing by the American Tobacco Company. In 1908 the Kentucky governor sent state militia into the area to suppress violence, after tobacco warehouses and other properties, including tons of tobacco, were being destroyed. * Fancy Farm is the site of the annual St. Jerome Catholic Church Picnic, famous as a traditional political gathering attracting statewide and occasionally national candidates. The picnic, referred to by non-locals as the "Fancy Farm Picnic," began in 1881 as a purely local affair. It takes place on the grounds of the church, which have expanded thanks in part to the picnic's success. Since 1956, the year that Kentucky moved its primary election to May from August, it has been held on the first Saturday in August. It has come to represent the traditional starting point of the fall campaign season in Kentucky. ** So many Kentucky politicians attend that it is news when a major state politician decides not to make an appearance, such as U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning in 2007. National figures who have made speeches include George C. Wallace in 1975, Lloyd Bentsen in 1988 and Al Gore in 1992. Vice President Alben Barkley, who was born at nearby Wheel and lived in Paducah, spoke many times over the years. ** In addition to the political appearances, the picnic offers traditional fair activities such as bingo games and raffle prizes. Food includes barbecue, a Knights of Columbusfish fry on Friday evening, and homemade baked goods. The event was recognized in the 1985 Guinness Book of World Records as the "World's Largest Picnic" for the consumption of 15,000 pounds of mutton, pork, and chicken at the 1982 picnic. ** The picnic proceeds are used to finance the Catholic elementary school and local improvements. No outside vendors participate, but people representing political causes sell paraphernalia, and about 12,000 to 15,000 people attend each year. * Symsonia is the birthplace of manga illustrator Andre Anthony. Category:Kentucky Counties